Member-only story
I recently finished an incredible book called, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management For Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.
Burkeman explores many uncomfortable truths that humans tend to avoid when thinking about how to spend their life (~4,000 weeks) on earth. The one uncomfortable truth that felt most relevant to me (and possibly for you as well) was my need to dictate my future.
I have an immense desire to plan everything. For fun, or more accurately, to try to reduce my anxiety, I’ve drafted up at least seven different paths that I could take in 2022.
I had each month planned out of what I was going to do, where I was going to be, and who I was going to be with. Because I believed that once I knew what was going to happen, I would be at peace and I didn’t need to worry about what was going to happen next.
Even in the most unpredictable moment in my lifetime-my VISA to Canada still in limbo, not knowing where I’m going to live long-term, COVID restrictions, my health struggles-I still believed that I can impose a perfect plan for myself.
But this is a lie that has made my life more anxious and arguably unhappier. I rediscovered this uncomfortable truth again when I learned about the origins of “time.”
